The present invention pertains to an air-cleaning apparatus and particularly, to an apparatus for installation in an exhaust pipe so as to remove undesired particles and gases from the exhaust discharged from said exhaust pipe.
As people become more environment-conscious, the elimination of harmful dust and gases from the exhausts of factories and machines becomes increasingly important in order to control air pollution in many developed countries. Generally, the major source of air pollution is the industrial exhaust discharged from the chimney stacks of factories. The discharged exhaust usually contains a large amount of dust and gases capable of destroying the natural atmospheric balance and damaging human health. In order to render such exhaust free from any pollutants, a kind of air-cleaning apparatus has been developed, the construction of which is shown in FIG. 1. The prior art apparatus primarily comprises a tank 11 for removing dust and a tank 12 for removing the harmful gases. The operation of this apparatus is carried out as follows: the stack exhaust enters into the tank 11 through an inlet pipe 13 and is sprayed by a water spraying device 14 installed therein whereby the dust is removed by the absorption of the falling water droplets; the remaining exhaust then enters into the tank 12 through a channel 15 and is sprayed by a mixture spraying device 16 installed therein, the sprayed mixture being directed to a chemical composite existing in the exhaust, e.g., the limewater (calcium carbonate), which is capable of reacting with and eliminating a harmful gaseous sulfide present in the exhaust, while the byproduct, e.g., CaSO4 can be recovered as a raw material for use in the production of plaster of Paris. The cleaned exhaust is then discharged through an outlet pipe 17 into the atmosphere.
However, in view of the fact that the downward spreading droplets of water and the chemical mixture cannot contact all of the stack exhaust, it is difficult to entirely remove the dust and the harmful gases from said exhaust by the means of this apparatus. Moreover, during the cleaning and/or the maintenance of the apparatus of this invention, the operation thereof must be interrupted.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an air-cleaning apparatus which can effectively remove all of the pollutants existing in the factory or machine exhaust.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an air-cleaning apparatus which can operate continously while performing cleaning or maintenance procedures thereon.